Early Departure
by Laimelde
Summary: When Jacob joins the Tok'ra and his life expectancy suddenly increases, none of them realise the problems this will eventually cause for Sam. Nor do they realise what they'll have to do in order to fix the situation...


**A/N:** I've invented Peterson Air Force Base's hospital. I have no idea if Peterson AFB actually has medical facilities at all.

This is my first non-linear story -yes, that means it jumps around in the timeline. Feel free to let me know if it worked for you. If you don't figure it out straight away, all the pieces should be falling into place by just after the halfway point. Also, I'm Aussie, so you'll see a lot of Australian/British spelling, but I have hopefully avoided any non-American terminology.

**Spoilers:** Main story is set in the second half of season 7, but there are no specific episode references. The epilogue is set later and has spoilers for Season 8 episode Threads.

* * *

Major Sam Carter lead her father through the busy supermarket aisles, picking up various ingredients for the dinner she planned to make.

"I'm not much of a cook, you know -I take after you that way, so it won't be anything fancy, but I've made this before and it's pretty tasty. Plus it's hard to get wrong." She grinned at him.

Jacob smiled back. "Whatever you make will be fine, Sam. It'll be nice just to spend an evening off-base."

"You spend more time off-base than on, Dad."

"Not when I'm on… er, in Colorado," he pointed out. Sam smiled at his near slip-up, but it was true. Her father's visits to Earth mostly coincided with problems that required everyone to stay at the SGC the whole time. He reached up to grab a can off a high shelf and handed it to his daughter.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. You know, since our plans fell through and I'll be around a few more days with nothing to do, I might call Mark and…"

When Jacob stopped mid-sentence, Sam turned and found him clutching his left arm.

"Dad?"

He collapsed. Sam managed to grab his shoulder and slow his fall enough that his head didn't hit the shiny supermarket floor too hard.

"Dad? Dad!" His eyes flickered open and he groaned weakly.

Other shoppers and staff were beginning to gather around, and in the background Sam could hear a woman saying "Someone call 911!" And an answering voice "I'm calling them."

"I'm a nurse," said a man, appearing at Sam's shoulder. "What happened?"

"I don't know, he was fine and then he was holding his left arm and collapsed." Sam was trying to figure it out. How could this have happened so quickly? If there was something wrong with her father after the accident earlier, wouldn't Selmak have fixed it? And if she couldn't, wouldn't she have at least known about it and said something?

The nurse had muttered something about a heart attack, checked Jacob's pulse and turned to the gathering crowd to check an ambulance was on it's way.

Sam began to get a sneaking suspicion she knew what was going on.

"Sam," her father said weakly. She focused.

"It's alright, Dad, help is on the way."

Jacob frowned in pain as he struggled to look at her. "Tell Mark I'm sorry. I wish I had been a better father for him. For both of you."

She nodded. "I'll tell him." She reached for the small comms unit tucked behind her ear.

* * *

Jack was staring blankly at his paperwork, wishing it would fill itself out, when his comms activated. He quickly recognised Sam's voice, but she didn't seem to be talking to him and there was a lot of background noise.

"Carter?" he asked.

"Peterson is fifteen minutes further away, and your father can't afford that time," a man's voice was arguing. "Memorial Hospital is the only option."

"But Peterson has all his medical history," Sam argued back.

"They can call Peterson and ask for anything pertinent. Right now, time is the most important factor. A heart attack can kill even after the initial 'attack' has passed."

Jack nodded at the empty office. "Message received loud and clear, Carter. I'll get the team." He reached for his comms and switched channels. "Alright kids, grab your gear. Operation Bodysnatchers is go."

* * *

XXX

* * *

Sam groaned as the shrill sound of her cell phone cut into her sleep. Rolling over, she blindly groped for it.

"Hello?" Her voice was thick with drowsiness.

"Sam, it's Mark." Then, incredulously: "Did I wake you? It's after ten."

"Uh, yeah." Sam sat up and tried to get the sleep out of her eyes. "I just came back from another timezone. Sleeping pattern hasn't caught up yet."

"Oh. Sorry."

"You didn't know. What can I do for you?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She found her slippers and headed into the kitchen to make coffee.

"I was just wondering if you'd heard from Dad lately."

It was an increasingly sore point between them. Ever since Selmak had convinced Jacob to reunite with his estranged son, Mark had wanted and expected Jacob to be around more often. After all, hadn't they reconciled for the purpose of getting to know each other and becoming friends again? Wasn't Jacob interested in spending time with his grandchildren?

Jacob's role with the Tok'ra didn't allow for a lot of leisure time on Earth though, and even Sam only got to see him intermittently. On the rare occasion when she had, Mark was usually furious that their father could find time to call or see Sam, but not him.

"No, I haven't sorry. He hasn't contacted you either?"

Of course not, but since Jacob's story was that he was on a round-the-world trip, Sam preferred to play dumb.

"No, and that makes it more than two months since we've had any news. Sam, this is ridiculous. At his age, he should be sensible enough to at least let us know where he's going and when. How will we know if something is wrong? He could be sick or injured and dying in some foreign country and we would have no way of knowing."

"I know. That bothers me too," Sam admitted, not having to lie. "I would hate for something to happen to him and us not find out in time to do anything."

Mark let out a frustrated breath, but seemed somewhat mollified by his sister's agreement. "Well, next time he turns up, I'll have you both over for dinner and we can discuss it with him. Besides, the kids miss their aunt and pop."

Sam smiled. "How are they? How did Lisa's dance recital go?" She took her mug to the kitchen table and sipped at it while Mark updated her on school projects and dance classes. She wasn't expected at the SGC at all today -they'd just gotten back from a week-long mission to P3X-318 and had been given a few days off, but she was planning to head in later anyway. Maybe she could get a bit more research done on that Ancient device SG-5 brought back two weeks ago.

After finishing both the coffee and the conversation, she stood, stretched, and wandered back into the kitchen. She noticed the light on her answering machine was flashing and hit the button.

"You have 14 new messages."

Sam groaned as she rinsed her mug. She could guess what those calls were about too.

* * *

XXX

* * *

"Doctor, there's some gentlemen from the Air Force here. They want Mr Carter."

"Actually, it's General Carter," a voice corrected. A military officer approached and nodded in greeting. "Captain Mulcahy, sir."

"Dr Willans. News must travel fast, we've only just got him settled in."

Mulcahy shrugged. "I've just been sent to fetch him. A Peterson AFB ambulance is waiting outside."

Dr Willans was mildly offended. "I can assure your superiors that the General is getting the best possible care here, and there's no reason to put him through the stress of moving about."

Mulcahy nodded. "With all due respect, doctor, we like to look after our own. And I was given strict orders not to return without the General."

The doctor sighed. The man in question was stable, after all, and so far none of their tests had shown any damage to his heart. In fact, he must have had one of the mildest heart attacks Dr Willans had ever come across. "Fine. Hand over those papers. His daughter came in with him, I assume you can transport her too?"

* * *

At Peterson Base Hospital, Sam watched anxiously as doctors and nurses rushed into her father's room. Stuck on the other side of a thick glass window, she couldn't hear what was going on but the flurry of activity gave the impression of controlled chaos. One doctor seemed to be yelling orders punctuated by wild arm movements, and another staff member dashed off at his words. Sam couldn't actually see her father, the activity blocking her view entirely.

Then another nurse entered more slowly, clipboard in hand, and whatever she said made everyone pause. The yelling doctor grabbed the clipboard from her. One by one, the nursing staff moved away, packing up and putting away the equipment they had been setting up. The doctor stepped out of the door beside Sam.

"Major Carter?"

"Yes."

"I'm very sorry, but your father had a DNR order on file. There was nothing we could do."

Sam nodded, looking through the window again at where her father's body lay. She could almost imagine he was simply sleeping, except that his body was much too still.

"If you'd like a moment with him?"

Sam nodded, blinking furiously as though to hold back tears. She made her way to the side of the bed and placed a hand over Jacob's. The whole situation was surreal.

She wasn't sure how much time passed before Jack arrived. She turned and he wrapped her in his arms. He made a show of patting her on the back soothingly.

"You okay?"

Sam nodded into his shoulder.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

Sam thanked the doctors and nurses as they left, and Jack kept an arm around her in support. He led her out to his car, and then reached for his comm.

"Daniel, Teal'c. You're up."

"Everything go okay at your end?" Daniel asked.

It was Sam that answered. "It went fine, all thanks to that DNR order. That was good thinking."

"Glad it worked. See you back at the Mountain. Out."

* * *

"Hi, we're here for a, uh," Daniel checked the paperwork on the clipboard in front of him. "A General Jacob Carter."

The hospital porter blinked. "That was quick. He was only just brought down."

Daniel shrugged. "Ah, well you know the military types. Efficient even in death I guess." He smiled crookedly.

The porter looked at Daniel and Teal'c, who was wearing his usual beanie pulled down low. "Sorry, which funeral home did you say you were with?"

"Oh, yes, sorry, we're new at this. I'm Daniel, this is Murray. We're from All Veterans." He handed over the clipboard. The porter gave it a cursory glance.

"Right, well he's just in here. There's a few forms you'll have to fill out, I'll just get them from the office." He motioned them through swinging double doors into a cool, open room, then disappeared through another door at the far end, eyes focused on the paperwork in his hand.

There were three gurneys in the room, but only one had a sheet-covered body on it. Teal'c gently lifted the sheet from the head. It was Jacob.

"It's kinda weird to see him like that."

"Indeed." Teal'c replaced the sheet.

The porter stuck his head in from the office with a frown. "Sorry, what did you two say your names were?"

"Er, Daniel… O'Neill and Murray Jackson," Daniel replied. Teal'c raised an eyebrow. The porter ducked into the office, and a moment later could be heard talking on the phone.

"Daniel Jackson, I believe we have been discovered."

"Yeah, looks like. Grab the gurney," said Daniel, reaching for the other end. He gave it a push and they headed out the double doors and down the short hallway. Daniel stuck his head out to check the coast was clear while Teal'c lifted the General into his arms.

"Go, go!" said Daniel, holding the door open. He glanced back at the empty hallway and hurried out after them, overtaking Teal'c in order to open the car door. Teal'c gently placed the General across the back seat while Daniel raced for the driver's side.

The door they had exited opened again and the porter came rushing out. He spotted Daniel's car a moment later, but Daniel had already started the car and was pulling out, even before Teal'c could shut his door.

"Hey!" the man yelled, uselessly.

Daniel put his foot down and they sped onto the street.

They drove in silence for a minute.

"That did not go as planned," Teal'c observed.

"No." Daniel sighed. "I'd better call General Hammond."

* * *

XXX

* * *

Jacob stepped through the Stargate into the cool and comparative dark of the SGC Gateroom. The Stargate's event horizon sent mottled blue light into the room for a moment longer before the wormhole disengaged. Sam and General Hammond waited at the bottom of the ramp and he made his way down to meet them.

"Jacob," General Hammond greeted him.

"George, good to see you. Sam." He stepped forward to give his daughter a kiss on the cheek, then stepped back with a concerned frown. "Are you okay?"

She smiled. "I'm fine Dad."

He wasn't reassured. "Mark and the family? They said it was a personal matter."

"Everyone's fine, Jacob," General Hammond interrupted. "Why don't we take this up to the briefing room?"

Jacob found that Jack, Daniel and Teal'c were waiting for them, seated around the conference table. Greetings were exchanged and the newcomers took their seats.

"Now, will somebody please tell me what's wrong?" Jacob demanded.

"Well, technically nothing's wrong," Sam started.

"Like hell it's not," said Jack. "Sir, your daughter is being harassed."

"What? Sam?"

"It's not what you think Dad," she said, glaring at Jack. "It's just Mark and several of your friends trying to get in touch with you."

"I thought we were telling them I'm on a round the world trip."

She nodded. "That's what I've been saying, but since you and Mark reconciled, he doesn't understand why you're not around more. He thought, since you're retired and all, you were going to focus on family and spend time with David and Lisa."

"Well, of course I want to, but-"

Sam raised her hands to stop her father. "I know Dad. But he doesn't. I think Mark's starting to suspect you're still secretly working for the Air Force."

Jacob nodded. It was understandable, given the history between him and his son.

"Don't forget about his friends, Carter," said Jack.

"My friends?"

"Some of your old air force buddies," said Daniel. "They've been leaving a lot of angry messages for Sam demanding to know why you haven't been in touch. Some of them are quite rude about it."

"They're not that bad," Sam protested.

"Ya think, Carter?" drawled Jack. "Well let's see for ourselves." He pulled out a tape recorder.

Sam looked on in surprise. "Wait, how did you get that?"

Daniel and Jack exchanged guilty glances. Seeing that they weren't going to reply, Sam turned to Teal'c instead.

"O'Neill has a key to your home, Major Carter," he told her.

She rolled her eyes. "That's supposed to be for emergencies."

Jack shrugged and pressed play. A gravelly voice started speaking.

"Samantha, this is the the fifteenth time I've called. Last time we spoke you promised to pass on my message to Jacob, and I still haven't heard from him. That makes it more than six months. Your old man can be an unsociable pain sometimes, but this is way beyond what's normal for him. If I don't hear from him soon, I'm calling the police, do you hear? And if you've got him hidden away so you can collect his pension for him, we're gonna hunt-" The message was abruptly cut off.

"Kurt Langston," Jacob said. "He always did assume the worst about people."

Sam nodded. "He's not the only one, but he's definitely the worst."

"I'm sorry honey," said Jacob. "I've got a few days up my sleeve right now; I'll go visit him and Mark. If I try to visit Earth more often and keep up appearances, it'll get them off your back."

"Do you really think you can do that, Jacob?" asked Daniel. At Jacob's blank look, he went on. "I mean visit Earth more often. Your place is with the Tok'ra now, you have work to do out there. Can you and Selmak really afford to be dropping back to Earth for regular social visits?"

Jacob hesitated, trying to ignore the mental comments Selmak was making to the same effect. "Probably not," he admitted.

General Hammond cleared his throat. "We have another problem, Jacob. It well known -here at the SGC, at least -that as a member of the Tok'ra, you now have a much longer life expectancy than the rest of us."

"Touch wood," said Daniel, knuckles tapping the table.

Hammond went on. "A few years ago you nearly died of cancer. With that sort of history, it won't be long before your continued good health becomes a statistical anomaly. A decade or two more and our own government will be knocking down our door to find out why you're still alive."

"Okay," said Jacob slowly. "I can see that could be a problem. But we have a few years to work it out."

"Actually," said Sam. "We already have a solution, and it'll solve both problems."

Jacob heard something in her voice. "I sense a 'but'."

Sam cringed. "But... you're not going to like it."

* * *

XXX

* * *

Mark Carter sat next to his sister in the front row of hard plastic chairs and watched the fighter jets approach. His wife was sitting near the back with the kids, since they couldn't be relied upon to stay still and quiet for the entire duration of a military funeral service. As the elder sibling, Mark was their father's official next-of-kin, and thus required to be at the front. The jets flew towards them in a V-shape formation, and just before they passed overhead, one pulled out and headed straight up.

"It's called the Missing Man formation," Sam whispered.

Mark nodded. It had been a strange few days. First the surprise of an Air Force officer on his front step, telling him his father had died; then finding out some creeps had stolen his body briefly -and Mark had only heard about that from the local paper, after arriving in Colorado Springs. Sam had apologised for not telling him about the incident, but apparently their father's body had been quickly recovered and she thought there was no need to cause him further distress.

The last day or so had been spent comforting his family, in between meetings with the military chaplain and finding out what procedures had to be followed in order to bury a general. That same military chaplain was now droning on about their father's long service to his country, but Mark wasn't listening. He was staring at the flag-covered coffin through blurry eyes. He had wasted so many years blaming his father for their mother's death, and refusing to have anything to do with him. When Jacob had, at long last, asked for forgiveness and finally made an effort, Mark had been overjoyed.

Well, that wasn't quite true. There had been a period of warming up to each other, becoming friends. Getting to know each other for the first time in years. And initially, at least, Jacob's efforts had seemed token at best. He was missing and out-of-contact far more often than he had been around. The last few months, however, had been a complete turnaround. Jacob seemed like a man on a mission, and that mission was to spend as much time with his family as possible. He came over for dinner regularly, played silly games with Lisa and David, and often took them out for ice cream, or to the movies, or to the park after school. Mark wondered if he was trying to make up for all the years he hadn't been around to see them.

Or maybe he was trying to make up for Mark's own childhood.

It didn't matter, not really. The point was, these last months had been wonderful and Mark had been looking forward to enjoying his father's company for years to come.

His thoughts were interrupted by the crack of thirteen riflemen firing in unison. They were about a hundred feet from the graveside ceremony, and Mark was glad they weren't any closer as they let off another two volleys.

He wasn't much interested in the formalities of a military funeral, only relieved that he wouldn't be required to speak. It was hard enough to maintain his composure just thinking about his father's death. He didn't know if he could hold it together if he had to speak in front of the gathering.

The formalities eventually ended. A bugle player had played the tradition piece. The flag had been folded the required twelve times and formally presented to Mark. The white-gloved officer had knelt in front of him and recited official words about 'a grateful nation' and 'honourable and faithful service'. The honour guard, in their dress blues and white gloves, had marched away in solemn formation.

Mark turned to find his sister already moving away through the small crowd. She had been calm and composed every time he'd seen her. Even when he'd first heard the news and called her, just a few short days ago, she'd sounded calm and strangely distant. He assumed it was shock, then, but now -it was like she didn't care.

Abruptly angry, he started after her -only to be caught on the shoulder by an old man.

"Mark? Is that you? I haven't seen you since you were a boy. Tell me what you're up to these days. Not involved in the military like your sister then?"

After a moment, Mark recognised one of his father's Air Force buddies, clearly retired now and leaning heavily on his cane, but still fitting proudly into his dress uniform. He made grudging small talk, eager to move on, but found himself stopped by another, and then another of his father's friends and colleagues, all eager to express their condolences, and share a memory or two of 'good old Jacob'.

When he finally worked clear of the group, he spotted Sam talking to a man in a fishing hat. They way they were standing, the man's back was to Mark, but Sam was smiling at him and appeared to be chatting happily.

Sam caught sight of Mark heading towards them and quickly ended her conversation. The man walked away before Mark could get close.

"Who was that?"

"Just one of Dad's friends," Sam replied, taking Mark's arm and steering him the other way. "How are you holding up?"

"Not terribly well, but I'll be fine. What about you?"

"Oh, well, it's a shock, I suppose." Sam didn't sound shocked. She did sound vaguely distracted. Mark's anger returned. He stopped walking and grabbed her shoulder.

"Sam, what is wrong with you?"

She was surprised. "Huh? Nothing's wrong."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like you don't care!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice down. It wouldn't do for their conversation to be overheard. Not here. "I thought you and Dad were close, but you're acting like it doesn't matter that he's gone. Like it never happened."

"I…" Sam gaped. "Of course I care. And of course we were close, especially recently. But it's like, I don't know, it… it just doesn't feel real. It's like he's not really gone, everyone's just," she paused and let out an exasperated breath. "Like it's all fake."

She looked away uncomfortably, and Mark's anger melted into compassion. He pulled her into a hug. So that's all it was. Of course she cared, she was just having trouble coming to terms with it.

"You stupid military types and your stupid composure," he murmured into her shoulder. "It'll hit you eventually, and when it does I'll be here for you, okay?"

* * *

XXX

* * *

Jacob cursed. This day had been bad enough already, so naturally it had just taken a turn for the worse. Like he needed that.

'Jacob, perhaps I should be driving. You are getting overly emotional and it may impair your decision making ability,' said Selmak.

"I'm fine," he said aloud. He checked the rear-vision mirror. The dark sedan was still there, several cars back. "Besides, you've never driven a car."

'No, but I share the memories of all your years of driving. I'm sure I would do fine.'

He snorted. "Maybe now's not the best time to test that theory."

He mentally felt Selmak's shrug. She wasn't bothered by his preference, just offered out of concern. He probably was a bit emotional, he admitted. After all, he'd just had an early lunch with one of his closest friends for the last time, and had been forced to pretend that they would meet up again in a few weeks. It was almost harder than the last time he'd seen Mark, because that day he hadn't been planning to immediately drive off to his death.

The cell phone in Jacob's pocket beeped loudly. He pulled it out and put it on speaker.

"Find out anything?"

"Jacob, hi, it's Daniel. You were right. We think it's the rogue NID group."

"What do they want?"

"No idea. Well, that's not entirely true, we know they want you."

"For what?"

"Well, that's where the no idea part comes in."

Jack's voice came over the line. "I think we can assume that whatever they want, it wouldn't be good. You wouldn't happen to be armed, would you?"

"No."

"Nothing? Not even a zat gun hidden under the seat?"

Jacob pulled up at an intersection, and looked for the dark sedan again. It was still hanging back, allowing two other cars to sit in between them.

"I was supposed to be crashing into a tree and dying, Jack. I didn't think it would be sensible to have EMTs and local cops finding weapons on me, of Earth design or otherwise."

"Right. Yes. True."

The lights changed, and Jacob sped off. The sedan following him sped up as well, overtaking the intervening vehicles, but still maintained some distance between them.

"I don't suppose that going ahead with the original plan would work, would it? If they think I'm dead already, I won't be any use to them."

"Afraid not," came Daniel's reply. "If they know who you are, then they know that you're Tok'ra, and that it would take more than a simple car accident to kill you. Plus, if Selmak puts you into a deep sleep like we planned, you'll be defenceless."

"Great," Jacob muttered.

"Just hang on, General," said Jack. "Sam and Teal'c are on their way. You just gotta keep driving til they can meet up with you."

"Well at least that part is still going to plan."

"They haven't made a move?" asked Daniel, surprised.

"No, matching my pace but not getting any closer," Jacob confirmed.

He was just outside Colorado Springs now. The proposed site for his 'accident' was just around the bend.

'They know the plan,' thought Selmak.

Jacob immediately understood. "So what's going to happen when I don't go through with it?"

"Huh?" asked Daniel.

"The men following me, they're keeping their distance because they know I'm supposed to crash just up ahead. Someone must have leaked what we were planning, and they thought it would be easy to take me while I'm playing dead. So what's going to happen now, if I don't die on cue?" Jacob explained.

There was uneasy silence.

"This could be bad," said Jack.

Jacob passed the point where he was supposed to veer off the road, and instead put his foot down. "Well, we're about to find out."

He glanced at the mirror several times. At first, the sedan didn't seem to notice the change in plan, but then it leapt forward.

"They've sped up," Jacob reported. "Where are Sam and Teal'c?"

"Jack's checking," said Daniel.

Jacob looked up again, surprised to see the sedan had already made up half the distance between them. He didn't have time to find out where Sam was. He needed another solution now, but on a low-traffic road, with no weapons, what could he do?

The road turned round another bend, and Jacob spotted his salvation in the distance. He chuckled.

"Stand down, Daniel. I've got a solution."

"What's that?"

"No time now, I'll call you back." Jacob managed to press the right button and hung up just as Daniel tried to object.

There was a police car by the side of the road, now only a quarter of a mile ahead. He looked back. The rogue NID car was still gaining on him, but they wouldn't be quick enough now. Jacob waited a moment longer, and then veered off the road and drove straight towards a tree.

The grass was thick and long, and by the time he hit the tree he was only doing 25mph, but it was enough to damage the bumper and hood nicely. As planned, he'd ended up only a hundred feet from the police vehicle. He took a moment to recover from the impact, and when he looked up, an officer was approaching. He opened the car door.

"Are you alright sir?"

He waved a hand in reassurance. "I'm fine, just, a bit shocked I guess. I don't really know what happened, I just sneezed and suddenly I was off the road." He glanced up towards the road in question. The dark sedan was driving off, having apparently given up for now. Jacob suppressed a grin and turned back to answer the officer's questions.

* * *

General Hammond was waiting for them as they exited the lift on level 28.

"Jacob, are you alright?"

It was Selmak that answered. "We are fine, General Hammond. The only injuries were mild whiplash and a bruised knee, both of which I have nearly finished repairing."

Hammond fell in beside Jacob as they headed down the hall, SG-1 right behind.

"Any luck with the rogue NID agents?"

"No, sir," Jack reported from behind him. "They skedaddled. Must have known we were onto them when Jacob changed the plan." Turning up the stairs into the control room, and then up again into the conference room, the group spread out around the table. Jack pulled out a chair and slouched in it.

"So... back to the drawing board?" he asked.

"Well, we can't exactly go with the car crash plan again," said Daniel, leaning on the back of a chair.

Teal'c tilted his head. "We cannot?"

Daniel shook his head. "We wanted something that wouldn't be suspicious. A one-vehicle accident isn't suspicious, but two by the same person in a short period of time would raise a few questions."

"I see."

"I don't think the SGC car pool would appreciate it either," Hammond agreed. "You'll have to come up with another plan, and we'll do this all again another time. I'm sorry to drag this out for you Jacob."

"Not your fault, George," said Jacob. Selmak had apparently relinquished control again.

"Well, it's still early, but since SG-1 won't be needed to arrange a military funeral after all, I'm giving you all a few days off. Dismissed." General Hammond nodded at them and retreated to his office.

Sam walked over to her father. "Well, if everything went well today and we finished up in time, I was planning to see if you wanted to have dinner at my place. I guess things didn't exactly go well, but if you're interested?"

Jacob chuckled. "I'd love to. Should we pick up some take-out on the way?"

"I was thinking I might cook something." She turned to the rest of her team. "You're all welcome to join us."

Jack stood up. "I'd love to, Carter, but I have a mountain of paperwork and if I don't start it soon, it might topple and crush me under it's weight." He patted her shoulder and left.

Daniel was right behind him. "Sorry Sam, but if we've got a couple of days I'm going to get a head start on translating the text on..." Sam waved him off before he could launch into a full description. She turned to the last member of the team.

"Teal'c?"

"I am honoured by the invitation, and would gladly join you. I did promise to spar with some of the marines; perhaps I can join you in a few hours?"

"Sure." Sam grinned happily. Teal'c bowed his head slightly and left.

Jacob gestured to the open doorway. "Shall we go too?"

"I'll need to stop at the supermarket and pick up a few things on the way."

"Fine by me, kiddo." He put his arm around her as they left the room.

* * *

XXX

* * *

"No. I won't do it."

"Jacob," Jack began, but Jacob stood abruptly and went to the window overlooking the gate room. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Look, Dad, we know what we're asking you to do is-"

"Do you? Really?" Jacob turned, eyes turning to his daughter accusingly. "I don't think you do." He began to pace along the length of the room. "For years I thought my son was lost to me, and then I was dying, and I had no choice but to take those regrets to the grave. Now I have a second chance, and you want me to give it up? You want to take my grandkids away from me? George, you're a grandfather. Could you do it?"

General Hammond hesitated and looked away.

"I didn't think so. And my friends? The people who had my six as I had theirs, who went to hell and back with me. I won't be able to catch up with them, hear about how their families are going, or share a beer and reminisce about old times. If I told any of you that you would have to make the rest of SG-1 believe you were dead, and never see them again, could you do it?" Silence answered him. "Jack? No response? What about you, Daniel?"

"General Carter, is it not rare for you to see your friends and family even now?" asked Teal'c.

"That's hardly the same as knowing I'll never have that opportunity again."

"I'm sorry Jacob, but I don't believe there's another way that will solve all of these problems," said General Hammond. "If it was just your friends wanting to know you're still around, we could handle it, but as it stands, I don't see any other choice. The more years that pass, the more questions will be asked."

Jacob's shoulders slumped, and he dropped back into his chair. "I know, I know."

"On the plus side, Jacob," said Jack. "Most people don't get the opportunity to attend their own funerals."

Jacob only leaned his elbows on the table and held his head in his hands. When he looked up a moment later, it was Selmak that spoke.

"Do not worry. It's going to take some time for Jacob to come to terms with this, but even now, deep down, he understands why it is necessary. As do I."

"Thank you, Selmak," said Sam.

He nodded. "At least he will still have you, Samantha." The Tok'ra looked around the team. "How long will he have to say his goodbyes?"

"As long as he needs," said Daniel.

* * *

XXX

* * *

Jacob opened his eyes to find his daughter standing over him.

"Welcome back."

"I didn't go anywhere."

He swung his legs around to sit up on the infirmary bed. The bed next to his was occupied by a mahogany coffin with shining silver handles. Daniel, Jack and Teal'c were placing sandbags in it.

"How much do you weigh, Jacob?" asked Jack.

* * *

XXX

* * *

Jacob followed his daughter through the busy supermarket aisles. She was planning to make him some sort of pasta dish for dinner.

"I'm not much of a cook, you know -I take after you that way, so it won't be anything fancy, but I've made this before and it's pretty tasty. Plus it's hard to get wrong." She grinned at him.

Jacob smiled back. "Whatever you make will be fine, Sam. It'll be nice just to spend an evening off-base."

"You spend more time off-base than on, Dad."

"Not when I'm on… er, in Colorado," he pointed out.

'Jacob, I've been thinking,' said Selmak. 'There is a simpler way than all these elaborate plans your friends have been making. If you were to have a heart attack right now, would that not be considered unexpected, but also not suspicious?'

'I suppose it would,' he thought back. 'Especially after the car crash earlier.'

He reached up to grab a can off a high shelf and handed it to his daughter.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. You know, since our plans fell through and I'll be around a few more days with nothing to do, I might call Mark and…"

When Jacob stopped mid-sentence, Sam turned and found him clutching his left arm.

* * *

XXX

* * *

Mark let himself in and closed the door behind him. Finding his wife in the kitchen, he kissed her cheek and was tackled by his kids. Excusing himself, he traipsed up the stairs to the office and dropped his briefcase beside the desk. He heard a car pull up outside, and stepped over to the window as he started to work his tie loose.

He recognised his sister stepping out of a rental car and frowned. It was unlike her to turn up unexpectedly. Then again, he'd received a call earlier that might explain the visit.

She swung the car door shut and he turned away from the window. Throwing his tie on the desk, he went downstairs to meet her.

He opened the door just as she was about to knock. Her eyes were red and swollen, like she'd been crying uncontrollably. And that impression seemed to be right, as she threw herself at him, sobbing.

He wrapped his arms around her as best he could. After a minute, he shuffled them further inside so he could close the door. His wife appeared at the end of the hallway, and he waved her away. She ushered the kids back into the kitchen.

"Sorry," said Sam, stepping back at last. She was still in her BDUs, so she must have flown out to San Diego straight from work. The shiny silver leaf on the collar reminded him she'd been promoted to Lt. Colonel a few months ago.

She was pulling a face at the wet patch on his shirt. "Sorry," she repeated.

"Hey, if you can't turn up out of the blue and soak my shirt, then what are brothers for?" he joked.

She managed a watery half-smile. Mark led her into the living room and they sat on the sofa.

"Is this about Pete?" he asked.

"Pete?" She looked surprised for a moment, then shook her head.

"He called me earlier, said you called off the engagement."

"I did."

"But it's not about that? Then what?"

Sam started to say something, and burst into tears again instead.

"Hey, hey," he soothed, pulling her into another embrace.

"Dad's gone," she said, choking out the words into his shoulder.

Mark was confused. "Sam, Dad died over a year ago."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know." She struggled to sit up and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "I just, I really miss him."

Mark smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, so do we." After all this time, Sam was finally mourning their father?

But then, she had just been through a hugely emotional decision, to break off her engagement. It was probably the straw that broke the camel's back, he mused. Once she'd started getting emotional it would have been too much, and she'd finally broken under the weight of it. He shook his head fondly. It was a very Jacob thing to do, and Sam was just like him.

He reached for the box of tissues on the side table and handed it to Sam, who gratefully pulled a few out. He waited as she cleaned herself up and regained her composure.

"Hey." He patted her hand, and she looked up, still sniffling a bit. "You staying in town?"

"No, I came all the way to San Diego just to cry on your shoulder and fly home again." She smiled. "Yes, I've got the weekend off."

"Good." He stood up and offered her his hand. "Stay for dinner."

"Oh no, I don't want to impose."

"It's fine," he assured her. "The kids would love to see you, and we can share our favourite stories about Dad."

She took his hand and stood up. "Thank you, I would love that. If you're sure."

"Oh yes," he grinned. "And definitely ask David to tell you about the blue ice cream incident."

Sam smiled. "I think I've heard that one."

"Yeah, but he loves to tell it."

Sam managed a shaky laugh, and Mark knew she'd be fine.


End file.
